Tone-modulating device for talking-machines.



E. R, JOHNSON.

TONE MODULATING DEVICE FOR TALKING MACHINES.l

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I4`. IBI-4.

1,23 1,370. Patented June 26, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTORN YS "HEUTE STATES FFCE.'

ELDRDGE PJ. JOHNSON, 0F MERION, PENNSYLVANA, ?SSIGNOR TO VICTOR TALKING MACHNE CGMANY, A QORPGRATON 0E 'NEW' JERSEY.

TONE-MODULATNG DEVICE. FOR TALKNG-MACEINES.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that 1, ELDRIDGE R. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Merian, county of Montgomery, and State of Pennsyl Yania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Tone-Modulat ing Devices for rlalkiiig-Machines, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Among' the principal objects of my invention are to provide means whereby the sound waves projected from a talking` machine during the reproduction of sound may be modulated, controlled and varied; to provide means whereby such sound waves may be modulated,,controlled and varied by a person located at any desired distance from the talkingmachine, and which shall consist of but a small number of parts of simple design and construction. Further objects of my invention are to provide tone modulating meanswhich may be utilized or not as desired; which when not in use, will in no way affect or hamper the reproduction of sound by the machine, and which will in no way injure the appearance or beauty thereof, or render the same unsightly.

Further objects of my invention are to provide means selective in their nature whereby the sound waves projected from a talking machine during the reproduction of sound may bc modulated, varied or controlled, said means beinkev capable of selective as well as conjoint operation, either at a distance from the talking machine or adjacent thereto in such manner as to produce substantially any desired tone effect or modulat-ion.

My invention also includes all of the other 'various novel objects and features of construction and arrangement hereinafter more definitely specified.

ln the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a talking machine embodying` one form of my invention, certain parts being shown in elevation for the sake of clearness, and Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse horizontal sections thereof@ showingr certain' parts of the device in various different positions assumed during the operation thereof.

lllhile various embodiments of the invention may be readily employed in connect-ion with talking machines of different forms,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patient@ d June 26, 191 "1 Applications filed December 14, 191e. i

Serial No. 877,049.

ing means or motor which may be of any suitable or preferred construction, the same fornnng no part of my invention. The motor shown in the drawings comprises a plate' 16 secured to the partition 10 and extending overw the aperture 13 from which is suitablysuspended a bracket 17 supporting the spring barrel 18 having suitable gearing 19 meshing with a worm :20 upon the vertical shaft 21 journaled at its lower end and extending' upwardly through the plate to support the usual turntable 23 on which may bel placed a sound record 24; The motor may also be provided with governing means 26 which may be of any desired form, and with braking? means Q7. I

The sound reproducing means 30, also of any suitable or preferred construction and located above the turntable in the usual manner, may be pivotally connected by means of a U-shaped tube 32 to the usual, preferably tapering, tone arm 34 extendingl toward the rear of the cabinet and supported adjacent its larger and downwardly turned end by any suitable means, such for instance as the bracket 3G and pivot 37, so as to render it freely movable in a horizontal plane.

'The downwardly turned end of the tone arm may be arranged to communicate with the sound conveyer l() located beneath the partition 10 and suitably secured thereto as by bolts 43 extending` through the partition and through a suitable horizontal flange Af preferably integral with the sound conveyer. so that the sound conveyerlis support ed entirely from the partition. '1f desired, however` any other method of attachment or support may be utilized. The sound conveyer may comprise an upwardly extending portion -l1 preferably substantially circular in cross section, and a substantially horizontal portion l2 preferably substantially rectangular in cross section and havin;r a substantially horizontal bottom wail 4T, a slightly upwardly diverfrent top wall 48 and sharply outwardly divergent side walls 49 and v50, ther whole sound conveyer i being preferably formed of metal and, if

. top 47 thereof.

sounding boards, 60.

desired, being provided with a `vertical in' lar to the" angular 'divergenceof the walls.

49 and 50 of the sound conveyer, and the angular divergence of the top 57 being preferablyconsiderably greater than that of the formed of wood or other suitable material i and,.if. desired, may be provided with a plu- -interior partitions or The amplifier preferably terminates adjacent to, but not in contact with, the front wall 1 of the cabinet rality vof suitable which is provided with a preferably rec'` tangular opening. or aperture 65, substantially coeXtevnsive with the mouth of the amplifier, through which the sound waves issuing therefrom are permitted to pass out ofthe cabinet, and which may be provided with a pair of suitable closures or-doors 67 and` 68 hinged to the wall of the cabinet by "hinges69 and'70, a pair of catches v72 comprising upwardly spring-pressed balls or other suitable means adapted for engagement within apertures 7 3 `in the edges of thedoors serving to hold the latter in closed position, as shown' in thev dotted lines in Fig. 2, when desired.

As is well known, the position of the doors with relation to the mouth of the amplifier materially affects the volume of sound issu Ving therefrom, the loudest reproduction being obtained with the ldoors in extreme open position, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2,

being obtained when the doors are in and the most muflied when the doors are fully closed, as 'shown in dotted lines in that figure, a proportionate volumeof sound positions intermediate of these extremes. For

f the pur-pose,l therefore, of controlling the position of the doors from a point either at a distance from the talkin@ machine or adjacent thereto, I make use'ofa certain combinations of parts and vinstrumentalities, and in the form of the invention illustrated, the same .may consist of a plurality of bellcrank levers 80, 81 and 82 pivoted respectively upon suitable stationary pivots 83, 84

and 85 secured to the partition 11. One arm 86 of the bell-crank 80 extends substantially toward the rear of the cabinet and has attached to it a suitable cord or chain 87 pass- The amplifier may be` ing diagonally across the top f the-partie tion 11 and over a pulley 88 mounted upon va bracket'89 secured in fixed relation with i the cabinet, and preferably positioned within a suitable aperture 90formed in thewall thereof.4 From thence the cord 87v passes Without the cabinet and extends for any'desired distance as, for instance, across the room 1n which the machine 1s located, a ring 92 or other suitable device being preferably provided at its end to afford a convenient hold for the hand of the operator. If desired, a suitable'escutcheonplate 93 may be attached to the exterior of the cabinet 4over the aperture 90 to form a finish therefor, the plate being provided with a suitable opening through which the cord 87 may pass. l

The other arm 94 of the bell-crank 80 is pivotally attached to a suitable link 95 in turnpivotally attached to a suitable bracket 96 secured to the inside of the door 67 ,and at a .point substantially midway of the length of the' Iarm 86 maybe pivotally attached another. suitable link 98 connecting said 'arm with the end of one arm 'of the bell-crank 81,.the end of the other arm of this crank being similarly pivotally' connected bythe linkv99'with theendof one arm of the -bellcrank 82. The end of theother -arm Vof the crank 82 is pivotally connected by a link 100 with a bracket 102 upon the door 68, in -a manner similar to that already described in connection with the door 67. A suitablerecess 104 may be provided adjacent vthelower inner edgeof each door in order to prevent the links 95 and 100^from striking against the corners of the doors during the opening movement and thus preventing them from assuming the fully opened position shown in Fig. 2,

sol

the recesses permitting the links to pass beyond the planes of the inner surfaces of the doors for this purpose. In certain constructions, however, the `recess' might be omitted and the links so shaped that the j doors could assume a fully opened position without the links striking against the inner corners of the doors.

Suitably positioned in the partition 11 is a stud 105 to which is attached one end of the coil spring 106, the other end being secured at a suitable point upon the link 98.

l, This spring is so proportioned as to be always under some tension no matter what the position of the link 98, the tension being at a minimum when the doors are fully opened, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2, and at a maximum when the doors are. fully closed, as shown in dotted lines in that figure.- The various parts are sopositioned and arranged and the lengthsof the links and of the arms of the bell-cranks are so proportioned, that the tendency of the spring will always be to pull the link V98 in adjacent links.

the directionof the arrow,^thereby forcing the long arm of the bell-crank 80 in asimilar direction and pushing the link 95 outwardly to open the door 67 tothe limit of its movement, asimilar pressure being constantly exertedon t-he door 68 `through the action of the other bell-cranks and their It will be readily peri ceiVed, however, that the tendency of the termediate positions, as shown in Fig. 3, to closed position as shown in the former figure in dotted'lines, in which dlatter position the doors will remain without any tension upon the cord 87 by reason of th'e action of the spring catches 72 hereinbefore referred to, which are so arranged as to hold the doors in closed position against the pull of the spring 106.

It will be further understood that the various bell-cranks and links, as well as the spring 106 hereinbefore referred to, are preferably positioned adjacent the upper surface of the partition 11 and between itA and the bottom of the amplifier and sound conveyer, which are spaced sufliciently far yfrom the surface of the partition to permit the free operation of the various parts, as clearly shown in" Fig. 1.

While it is possible by proper manipulai tion ofthe cord 87 tocause the doors to assume various positions to vary and control vthe volume of sound issuing from the amplifier, a somewhat more perfect tone modulation may be attained when the doors are manipulated in conjunction with. certain other means, preferably located within A the sound conveyer itself, and which may preferably comprise a plurality of shutters movably positioned within the sound conveyer in such manner that their relation to the sound passage may be controlled from the'eXterior of the machine, preferably from the `samevpoint from which the position of the doors is controlled, and while these shutters maybe formed and actuated in various manners, 1 prefer to employ shutters constructed substantially as follows: The shutter 110 is preferably positioned within the sound conveyer adjacent the upturned portion 41 thereof, and comprises the shutter proper formed preferably of a plate of suitable metal oi' other material and rigidly secured, as by screws 111, to a suitable shaft 112 journaled in the sides of the sound convey-er which, if desired, may be provided with a bushing 114 to provide a suitable bearing for the shaft. The shaft may project a considerable distance beyond the sound conveyer, preferably toward that side of the cabinet upon which the pulley 90 is secured, and a suitable lever 116 may be 4iXedly secured to the shaft by a set screw or other suitable means. To one end of the lever may be attached a suitable coil spring 118, the other end of which is secured to a lug 119 on the surface of the' partition 11. A suitable cord or chain 120 is attached to the other end of the lever, from which point it passes downwardly under a pulley 122 mounted upon a bracket secured to the partition 11 fand from thence diagonally toward the corner of the cabinet, and passing through a suitable opening 125 in the wall j thereof, extends outwardly therefrom for any desired distance, the length of the cord outside of the cabinet being preferably substantially the same as the cord 87, so that the operation of the twocords may be car-- ried on from the same' point. A ring 92 may be attached to the end of the cord.

It will be evident that the spring 118 will normally tend to draw the adjacent end of the llever 116 downwardly, thus serving to turn the shutter 110 upwardly to a position substantially parallel with the top of the amplifier, the shaft 112 being preferably positioned at a point in the side walls of the sound, conveyer just below the under surface of the top 48. When, however, the cord 120 is pulled, the other end of the lever will be depressed and the spring extended, whereby the shutter may be caused to assume any position between fully opened, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, and fully closed, as shown in dotted lines therein, thus changing the shape and restricting the area of the passage .in the sound conveyer through which the sound waves must pass, the shape of the shutter being preferably substantially that of the cross section of the sound conveyer adjacent thereto, so that when the shutter is in closed position the passage through the sound conveyer will be completely obstructed, which, however, does not serve to entirely muiiie the reproduction of sound by the machine. For the purpose of obtaining the fulles possible control over, and modulation of, the sound waves and for obtaining the most artistic and pleasing effects, I prefer to position a second shutter 1370 substantially adjacent tlie mouth of the sound conveyer and directly behind the amplifier. While the size of this shutter will necessarily be'somewhat greater than that ofthe shutter 110 in order that it may substantially close the passage in the sound conveyer when depressed. the construction and arrangement of the shutter and of its operating mechanism. may preferably be substantially' similar to that already described in connection with the shutter 110. the shutter being attached to a shaft 112', journaled in the walls of the conveyer, which may be suitably provided with a proper bushing 114 and operated through the medium of lever 116 bycord 120 passing over pulley 122 and thence through opening 125 to any desired point, preferably adjacent the end of cords 120 and 87. A ring 92 may be provided on the end of the cord, and a spring 118 attached to one end of the lever 116 serves to normally keep the shutter in raised position against the top of the sound conveyer from which position it may be caused to move by pulling upon the cord 120.

It will thus be evident that I have provided means by the operation of which the tone and volume of the sound Waves issuing from the mouth of the amplifier when the talking machine is in operation may bemodulated and varied as may be desired, and from a point either adjacent to or at adistance from the machine. Furthermore, it may be stated that if during the reproduction of any given selection the shutter 110, for instance, is operated alone, and then the selection repeated and shutter 130 operated alone, and the same procedure be again gone through and the doors alone operated, quite different effects maybe obtained in each 1nstance, a result for which I do not attempt to account, but by reason of which itis possible by a proper manipulation of the several cords conjointly to obtain the `most varied and complete tone modulations.'

While I have herein illustrated and described one form of my invention With considerable detail, I do not desire to be understood as thereby limiting myself specifically thereto, as it Will be evident that various changes and alterations may be made in the construction and arrangement of the several parts of the device'ivithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having -thus described my invention', I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. In a talking machine, the combination of a cabinet having an opening, movable closures for said opening, a sound conveyer having a passage, asound amplifier between said sound eonveyer and said opening, means movable Within said sound conveyer operative to restrict the area of said passage, and means operative to control the position of said closures and of said first mentioned means from a point at a. distance from said cabinet.

2. In a talking machine, the combination of a cabinet having an opening` sound reproducing means, an amplifier terminating adjacent said opening, sound conveying meanshaving an internal passage and connecting rsaid sound reproducing means and said amlifier, movable closures for said opening, a

plurality of means Within said sound conof a cabinet having an opening,

veyer operative to restrict thezarea of said passage, means operative to control the position of' said closures from a point removed from said cabinet, and means operative to control said means Within said sound conveyer from the same point.

3. In a talking machine, the combination of a cabinet having an opening, sound reproducing means, a sound amplifier, a sound conveyer having an internal passage and connecting said sound amplifier and said sound reproducing means, a pair of movable doors for said opening, a plurality of movable shutters within said passage, means operative to control the position of said doors from a point removed from said cabinet, and means operative to control the position of said shutters from the same point.

4. In a talking machine, the combination sound reproducing means, sound conveying means connecting said sound reproducing means with an amplifier terminating adjacent said opening, a pair of movable doors for said opening, means tending to normally maintain said doors in open position, a plurality of shutters within said sound conveying means, means operative to normally maintain said shutters in open position, and means operative to change the position of said doors and of said shutters from a point removed from said cabinet. ,y

5. In a talking machine, the combination of a cabinet having an opening, sound reproducingmeans, an amplifier terminating adjacent said opening. a sound conveyer connecting said amplifierand said sound reprofor said opening, a plurality of shutters in said sound conveying means, means comprising a plurality of spring-actuated levers operative to normally maintain said closures in open position, means comprising springactuated levers operative to normally maintain said shutters adjacent the Wall of said sound conveyer, and means operative to change the position of said closures and of said shutters from a point distant from said cabinet.

6. In a talking machine, the combination of a. cabinet having an opening, sound reproducing means, an amplifier terminating adjacent said opening, means interposed between said amplifier and said sound reproducing means, a pair of hinged doors adjacent said opening, a pluducing means, a pair of movable closures sound conveying rality of rotatable shutters ivithin said` ing from said aforesaid means and through Clt the wall of said cabinet whereby'the position of said doors and of said shutters may be varied.

i. in a talking,1 machine, the combination with a. cabinet having an opening, of movable closures for said opening, means comprising a plurality of bell-cranklevers and a spring operative to normally maintain said closures in open position, and means comprising a cord extending through the wall of said cabinet operative to actuate said nist-mentioned means whereby the position of said closures maybe varied.

8. ln a talking machine, the combination with a cabinet, of a sound conveyer 4within said cabinet, a plurality of rotatable shutters within said sound conveyer, means without said sound conveyer and within said cabinet operative to normally maintain said shutters in one position, and means extending without said cabinet whereby said shutters may be caused to assume another position.

9. ln a talking machine, thecombination with a cabinet having an opening and a pair of movable closures for said opening, of a sound conveyer supported within said cabinet, a pair of rotatable shutters within said sound conveyer, means whereby the position of said closures may be changed from a point removed from said cabinet, and means whereby said shutters may be rotated from the saine point.

l0. ln a talking,` machine, the combination with a cabinet having an opening and a pair of movable closures adjacent, said opening, of a sound conveyer within said cabinet, means within said cabinet operative to normally maintain said closures in open position, a plurality oft movable shutters within .veyer having a passage,

said sound conveyer, means without said sound conveyer and within said cabinet operative to normally maintain said shutters in open position, and means extending through the wall of said cabinet whereby the position of said closures and of said shutters may be selectively altered from al -doo'rs may be controlled and said shutters rotated from a net.

l2. in a talking machine, the combination of a cabinet having an opening, means operative to close said opening, a sound cona sound amplifier between said sound conveyer and said opening', means movable in said soundconveyer operative to'restrict the area of said passage, and means operative to control the po sitions of said first-mentioned means and of said last-mentioned means from a point at a distance from said cabinet.

ln witness whereof, l have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of-December, A. D. 1914:.

ELDRDGE JHNSN.

point distant from said cabi- 

